September 30, 2010
Near Arco, a town we lived in over 30 years ago in Idaho, is Craters of the Moon National Monument. Though we visited there many times and explored the mountains near by, we couldn’t remember having seen this showy wildflower, which we saw in the monument and elsewhere this trip.
From the USDA website:
Mentzelia laevicaulis – smoothstem blazingstar
From Double Cone Quarterly:
… perennial herbs of sandy and/or rocky areas, summer-dry flood plains, washes and sometimes road cuts. What first catches the eye are the large five petaled flowers, which are light yellow. and range from about 6 to 16 cm (2.5-6.5") wide when fully expanded. The flowers are further adorned by a wide fountain-like display of numerous long stamens. The five innermost stamens, which alternate with the petals, have widened, petal-like filaments. The plants begin to produce flowers around June and continue to do so until about October. Another striking feature of this species are the whitish-shining stems. Although Mentzelia laevicaulis translates as "smooth-stemmed Mentzelia," this is in comparison to other Mentzelia species, for at least the upper stems are rough to the touch due to a light coat of short and stiff barbed hairs.
Mentzelia laevicaulis is widely distributed in temperate western North America, where it is occurs suitable habitats in California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah. It is found in diverse regions, ranging from lowland deserts to mountainous areas up to about 2700 m. (8,000′).
Our little motorhome is just right for us.
Oh, I guess sometimes it might be nicer to have something larger, but, since we don’t live in it and like to go places where the bigger campers have more trouble getting into, our little motorhome is just right for us.
Our little class C motorhome is sandwiched in between larger class A motorhomes. Class A motorhomes are sized comparable to buses, while a class C motorhome is built on the chassis of a large van or pickup truck. Ours was built on a Dodge Sprinter chassis.
Images are composite images from photos taken July 22, 2010, at the Snake River RV Park in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
September 28, 2010
Mike’s mini-commentary:
I don’t use Twitter, mainly because I just don’t get why I would want to share random thoughts with others or why I would want to tune in to the random tweets of others.
Twitter, though, is used by a lot of people and is often mentioned on blogs. Here’s a trio of recent posts specifically related to Twitter from blogs/feeds I’m subscribed to:
Questions:
- Do you have a Twitter account and, if so, do you use it regularly? If not, have you considered it and do you have reason for not having one?
- If you have Twitter account, how often do you use it?
Other perspectives on not tweeting:
Why I Don’t Tweet… :
First of all, I don’t believe Twitter is evil, wrong, or in any way immoral. And I’m not condemning my many friends who love to Tweet. But it’s not for me. Here are the top 10 reasons why I don’t use Twitter (not that there’s anything wrong with it)….
Why I Don’t Tweet
Because I don’t think my random thoughts are of interest to anyone, especially those thoughts that can fit into Twitter’s 140-character limit.
And I truly don’t understand people who think their 140-character random thoughts should be of interest to others, even if—as apparently is the case with Ashton Kutcher—they are.
Twitter’s payoff simply seems too low and its risks too high….
Why Teens Don’t Tweet
Why aren’t teens using Twitter? The answer to this question is essential to not only understanding why Generation Y has not embraced microblogging, but to the very future of the medium. Let’s take a look at the statistics and the thoughts of my fellow under 25-ers to understand just why there’s a shortage of teen tweeters…
Why CEOs Don’t Tweet | BNET
America’s business leaders are largely absent from social media platforms. A study of the web 2.0 footprints of the CEOs from the Fortune 100 found that only two had Twitter accounts, 81 percent did not have a personal Facebook page, just 13 used LinkedIn and none had a blog….
Real men don’t tweet
OK. That headline is a huge exaggeration. But a new study from comScore Inc. finds that there is a gender gap of sorts on social networking sites….
Most Twitter users never tweet, don’t follow anyone
A new report about how the majority of the population uses Twitter reveals that most people, well… don’t really use it. The microblogging service has grown exponentially over the last year, but a little more than half of its users have never sent a single tweet, according to the latest report from HubSpot (PDF). The report reminds us that, like many Web services, much of the content is produced by a small number of users while everyone else likes to look in and watch….
Michael Lewis: What I Read
I don’t tweet, I don’t Twitter, I couldn’t even tell you how to read or where to find a Twitter message. I don’t actually see the point of limiting communication to a haiku. I find the whole effusion of communications technology bewildering. All you have to do is overhear a certain number of cell phone conversations to see that the vast majority of what people say and write to each other is totally pointless. I have an email address and I’m thinking of shutting that down. It’s amazing how overly accessible people are. There’s a lot of communication in my life that’s not enriching, it’s impoverishing….
I’m working my way through the photos of our trip, posting where I had missed posting during the trip.
Sometimes that means multiple posts about a particular day of the trip. Some days had just that much in them.
I’m also updating, somewhat irregularly, my index of posts related to the trip, which I have placed on a Haw Creek Out ‘n About web page.
For now, I’m done with Wyoming. We exited that state on the west, near Alpine, Wyoming, and, in August, reentered on the north in Yellowstone National Park, south of Gardner, Montana.
Snake River upstream of Idaho Falls:
The falls in Idaho Falls:
A roundabout fountain and sculpture in Idaho Falls:
September 26, 2010
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, July 20, 2010
From the road to Jenny Lake:
At Jenny Lake:
From Signal Mountain:
At Lake Jackson:
from Eyes of the Great Depression 048 – to be published October 1, 2010
Previously:
I’m working my way through the photos of our trip, posting where I had missed posting during the trip. 
Star Trek’s Sir Patrick Stewart doesn’t tweet
September 27, 2010
Mike’s mini-commentary:
I don’t use Twitter, mainly because I just don’t get why I would want to share random thoughts with others or why I would want to tune in to the random tweets of others.
Twitter, though, is used by a lot of people and is often mentioned on blogs. Here’s a trio of recent posts specifically related to Twitter from blogs/feeds I’m subscribed to:
Questions:
Other perspectives on not tweeting:
Why I Don’t Tweet… :
Why I Don’t Tweet
Why Teens Don’t Tweet
Why CEOs Don’t Tweet | BNET
Real men don’t tweet
Most Twitter users never tweet, don’t follow anyone
Michael Lewis: What I Read
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